# Comparison of three different therapeutic interventions in the management of knee osteoarthritis: Randomized controlled parallel group pilot trial

## TL;DR

This study compared three physical interventions for knee osteoarthritis and found that all improved pain and function, but none was clearly better overall.

## Contribution

A pilot trial comparing therapeutic exercise alone, with cryotherapy, and with joint mobilization in knee osteoarthritis patients.

## Key findings

- All groups showed significant improvements in pain and function after 18 days of treatment.
- The TE-JM group had lower pain levels compared to TE-only and TE-Cr groups.
- The TE-Cr group had a lower quality of life score compared to the other two groups.

## Abstract

The study aimed to compare the effectiveness of different physical interventions on pain intensity, knee function, and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).

This pilot trial involved 63 patients (45–55 ​yrs) in a rehabilitation center. Patients were randomly assigned to three groups: therapeutic exercise alone (TE, n ​= ​21), TE and cryotherapy (TE-Cr, n ​= ​21), and TE and joint mobilization (TE-JM, n ​= ​21). The primary outcome was pain intensity, secondary outcomes included knee joint function (WOMAC), muscle strength, knee joint range of motion (ROM), and quality of life (SF-36). Data were collected at baseline and after 18 days of inpatient rehabilitation.

There were no significant between-group differences in the primary outcome at baseline. After 18 days, all intervention groups showed significant improvements (p ​< ​0.05). The TE-JM group reported lower (p ​< ​0.05) pain levels (3.24 ​± ​1.04) compared to the TE-only (4.76 ​± ​0.77) and TE-Cr (4.86 ​± ​0.57) groups. The TE-Cr group had a lower (p ​< ​0.05) SF-36 total score (52.81 ​± ​10.50) than the TE (62.00 ​± ​9.74) and TE-JM (66.62 ​± ​2.87) groups. No significant between-group differences were observed in ROM or muscle strength. The WOMAC total score was lower (p ​< ​0.05) in the TE-JM group (27.3 ​± ​13.9) compared to the TE-Cr group (40.1 ​± ​10.7).

Although all three interventions had beneficial short-term effects, leading to reductions in knee pain and improvements in physical function and quality of life, but no single intervention demonstrated superior effectiveness across all assessed outcomes.

ClinicalTrials.gov, http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT05636059.